SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball program opens its 25th season of Mountain West competition on Tuesday, Sept. 19, when it travels to the Silver State to battle UNLV, starting at 6:30 p.m. PT.
The Aztecs-Rebels clash from Cox Pavilion will air live on the Mountain West Network, marking the league's first match in its Tuesday Night Block Party promotion this season.
SDSU has compiled a 188-202 record against MW competition in the regular season since the league's inception in 1999. However, The Aztecs are 270-196 in program history against teams in the current conference alignment thanks in part to renewed rivalries with Fresno State and San José State.
San Diego State is 12-12 all-time in Mountain West openers after falling to SJSU at home in four sets last year.
The Aztecs will play 18 conference matches, including home-and-away contests against eight league rivals while facing Boise State and Utah State just once.
Last weekend, SDSU notched a pair of 3-0 victories at the Gonzaga Tournament over the host Zags (25-23, 25-22, 25-17) and Eastern Washington (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) to finish their non-conference schedule at 5-6. With the results, the Aztecs have posted four sweeps in their last five matches.
In its opener against Gonzaga, SDSU maintained the edge in most statistical categories, including kills (39-33), service aces (10-6) and digs (38-32). Additionally, the Aztecs out-hit the Zags .221 to .139, posting a .429 efficiency in the third set to help grab a 3-1 lead in the all-time series.
Individually, SDSU was paced by Madison Corf's match-high 12 kills, while Julia Haynie and Taylor Underwood finished with eight put-aways, three blocks and two service aces apiece. Haynie hit .636 for the night, committing just one error in 11 attempts, while Underwood finished with a .300 efficiency (8-2-20).
The following day vs. Eastern Washington, the Aztecs recorded their second-best hitting percentage of the season at .298 while limiting the Eagles to a .168 clip. In addition, the Scarlet and Black held a sizable advantage in kills (46-28) and served up more aces (7-3) to raise their record to 4-0 in the all-time series.
Once again, SDSU featured a balanced attack, with five players amassing five kills or more. Underwood led all players with 12 put-aways and tied her career-high with five service aces, while Mikela Labno also reached the double-digit barrier, launching 10 non-returnables on 19 swings without an error for a .526 efficiency.
In addition, Haynie knocked down six kills of her own against one miscue in 11 swings for a .455 clip, while Corf and Heipua Tautua'a (7 digs) smashed five put-aways apiece.
As of Sept. 17, Haynie ranks second in the Mountain West with a .429 hitting percentage. The SDSU super senior has knocked down 57 kills on 105 attempts this season with just 12 errors.
In addition, the Aztecs boast two players among the conference top 10 in services aces, including Underwood (0.49/set), who has climbed into the second spot, followed by Tautua'a (0.38/set), who ranks seventh.
Elsewhere, setter Sarena Gonzalez (5.94 assists/set) and libero McKenna Douglas (3.49 digs/set) are slotted ninth in the MW in their respective statistical categories.
Collectively, the Aztecs have climbed into the league's second position this week in service aces (1.74/set). while occupying the third, fourth and fifth spots, respectively, in assists (12.29/sets), kills (13.20/set) and hitting percentage (.216).
On the national level, SDSU ranks 62nd in assists and 72nd in kills per set.
The Aztecs' total of 50 team kills at UCSD are tied for second-highest total in the conference thus far for a three-set match. Likewise, SDSU's 48 overall assists in that same contest are also tied for the second-best total for a three-set match.
Tuesday's opponent UNLV opened its first homestand with four victories last week to raise its record to 8-4 on the year. The Rebels dropped just one set in that span, sweeping Southern Utah in their home opener on Sept. 12, before posting whitewashes of Coppin State and Lamar at the UNLV Tournament, sandwiched around a 3-1 triumph over Portland.
As a team, the Rebels lead the Mountain West with 2.05 aces per set and 90 overall, the latter of which ranks 24th in the country. In addition, UNLV finds itself among the top half of the conference in hitting percentage (2nd, .284), kills (3rd, 13.48/set) and assists (4th, 12.25/set).
On the national stage, the Rebels' hitting percentage ranks 20th, while its kill and assist averages are good for 50th and 52nd, respectively.
Individually, UNLV is led by senior outside hitter Isabel Martin, who is slotted second and 10th in the Mountain West in kills (4.29/set) and hitting percentage (.347), respectively, with her kill average ranking 20th nationally. In addition, the Rebels have received a boost from setter Arien Farfard, who occupies the seventh spot in the league with 7.44 assists per set, while libero Caleigh King ranks eighth in service aces (0.38/set) to go with a team-best 3.24 digs per frame.
Martin, who was named MVP of the Rebels' home tournament, earned MW Offensive Player of the Week honors, while King garnered conference Freshman of the Week accolades.
SDSU leads the all-time series vs. UNLV 29-27 since the two programs first met in 1985. However, the Rebels captured both matches last season, including a four-set triumph in Las Vegas (25-16, 25-19, 25-27, 25-22).
Although the Aztecs trailed in several statistical categories, the Scarlet and Black nearly extended the match to a fifth set until UNLV erased a 20-17 deficit in the fourth frame with an 8-2 closing run to dash any comeback hopes and escape with the victory.
Among SDSU returners, the Scarlet and Black was led by Madison Corf's 15 kills, while Julia Haynie (.429) floored eight shots of her own. In addition, Elly Schraeder finished with four total blocks, including two solo stops, while Sarena Gonzalez dished out 15 assists.
Collectively, the Rebels out-hit the SDSU .331 to .222, maintaining the upper hand in kills (56-42) and team blocks (13.0 to 9.0) while overcoming 15 service errors to help key the win. Similarly, the Aztecs were plagued by their own serving woes, as 10 miscues offset any momentum generated by six aces.
UNLV is under the direction of first-year head coach Malia Shoji, who spent the previous eight seasons as an assistant at Utah, including the last five as associate head coach. With Shoji assistance, the Utes made six straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Sweet 16 berths and three consecutive third-place finishes in the Pac-12 Conference.
Also on the Rebels staff is Las Vegas native and former Aztec standout Deja Harris, who competed at San Diego State from 2014-18. Harris is one of only four players in MW history with 1,250 career kills and 550 career blocks, ranking 11th all-time in conference history with 561 career blocks and 22nd with 1,306 career kills.
Following Tuesday's showdown, San Diego State returns to the friendly environs of Aztec Court at Peterson Gym for its conference home opener against San José State on Saturday, Sept. 23, beginning at 1 p.m. PT.
Aztecs Set for Tuesday Night Block Party at UNLV
